


Healing the past after it crashes down on you

by Lafonsame



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I don't actually know how long this is going to end up, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7749682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafonsame/pseuds/Lafonsame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holtz and Erin have a talk after Erin punches someone for calling her a freak. Erin ends up learning a lot more about Holtzmann and they end up getting a lot closer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by that deleted scene where Erin punches that guy.  [Gif set here] 
> 
> All mistakes are my own, I apolagise for any errors.

“I probably shouldn't of punched him so hard.” They're all back in their lab now, and Holtz is nursing Erin's hand. Holtz had become in charge of first aid in the team, seeing as she knew the most because of having to patch herself up after blowing so many things up.

~~~

Erin thinks back to the events causing her hand to ache as much as it did. They had just finished catching the ghosts at the metal concert. They were all running on a high, so excited that they were being recognised. They had achieved the impossible, they had managed to capture a ghost. It gave Erin comfort, knowing she was right, knowing she wasn't just ghost girl. It was like all her fears and doubt from here childhood had been validated. She felt on top of the world, surrounded by her friends, a crowd of people thanking them for their hard work. She was stupid to think that feeling could last forever.

Some guy in the crowd was yelling at them, calling them frauds, saying they were still making things up. Erin turned to the source of the noise, recognising the person it was coming from. Phil, one of the worst tormentors from her childhood. He was one of the people who managed to get the nickname 'ghost girl' going. He made Erin's life a living hell. Erin froze, her stomach sinking, suddenly transported back to being a child, alone on the playground, no one believing her, all of her peers whispering between themselves and giving her weird looks. Abby was still standing next to her, gripping onto her arm, tugging on her to move.

“Just leave him Erin, He isn't worth your time.” Phil was still coming closer, and Erin was still frozen to the spot she was standing on. His yelling had now attracted the crowds attention, surrounding him and Erin. Holtz and Patty had even come over from the other side of the crowd, curious to what was happening. He had his phone out, recording, obviously trying to get a reaction from the ghostbuster. Erin could vaguely hear Abby still muttering to leave and ignore him, asking if she was okay. She turned to face Abby for a second, when he yelled out again.

“They should put you back in therapy, you freak!” And that was it, Erin could feel her blood boil, the anger coming from inside of her. She was angry at her parents for putting her in therapy, angry at the kids at school for being so mean, angry at her neighbour for dying and haunting her for a year. All of that anger was storming inside of Erin and she had to let it out. Abby knew what was about to happen, recognising the anger that was on her face, and quickly let go of Erin, ducking out of the way. 

And then Erin punched him. Right in the face. She heard Holtz give out a yell and Patty muttering about how it was going to leave a mark. Erin took a few deep breaths, still processing that she had actually just punched him in the face. Abby was back at her arm in a few seconds, pulling her away again.

“Okay we gotta go, now.” Abby said, giving Erin a particularly strong tug. Erin stumbled after her, still in a little bit of a daze. Holtz and Patty followed both of them, stopping anyone asking any more questions or following them.

~~~

“At least you remembered to keep your thumb outside of your fist, could of broken it if you did that,” Holtz spoke, breaking Erin out her thoughts. “I learnt that lesson the hard way.” Erin stared at Holtz for a few moments. Erin was sat down in a corner of their space above the takeaway shop. Holtz had taken her away as soon as they got back. Abby and Patty were all the way on the other side of the building, giving Holtz and Erin their privacy. They were probably discussing something like damage control. Erin knew she shouldn't of punched that guy in the face. Holtz's face was close to her own, so close they were nearly touching. She was looking down at Erin's hand, her tongue slightly out in concentration, gently holding Erin's hand and turning it, assessing the damage Erin had now done to her own hand. Erin felt a small bit of warmth in her chest, not thinking much of it. It was nice to have someone care about you.

“Wait, what?” Erin spoke, just as she processed Holtz's last comment.

“I _may_ have punched a lot of people in the face when I was a kid. Broke my hand the first time.” Holtz said this casually, as if it was perfectly normal just to go around punching people. Well, Erin supposed she couldn't really talk, she had just punched someone herself. They both just sat in silence for a few more minutes. Erin was pretty sure Holtz wasn't even doing anything anymore, just holding her hand, but she couldn't quite bring herself to move. 

“I was quite an over active child,” Holtzmann continued. “I was so full of energy and I had no where for it to go. I spoke at 100 miles an hour and was constantly running around, going from one idea to the next. The other kids all though I was weird. I didn't mind that much, I was always too busy and they could never keep up. But I managed to get into fights a lot.” Erin just sat and listened, looking at Holtz with a soft expression. Holtz was glad Erin didn't interrupt, she hadn't really told anyone this before, but for some reason she knew she could trust Erin.

“My parents sent me to therapy too, you know, after the first few incidents. It didn't help much though. The therapists always wanted me to slow down and think things through before I did them and it was just so _slow_. I just couldn't do it. My parents stopped paying for them after a few years, realising they weren't achieving anything. I was still the same weirdo I always was. Still getting into fights every week. That's when I met Dr. Gorin.” Holtz paused, making eye contact with Erin and giving her a smile. “She taught me how to focus my energy on science. How I could build things. How I could turn all these ideas running through my head into actual machines. It helped a lot. I mean, I was still reckless and over active but I was getting into fights less. I poured all my energy into my toys.” Holtz stood up, walking over to her workbench. Erin felt her stomach drop at the loss of physical contact. “Your hand should be fine by the way, you'll have a nasty bruise, but it will clear up in a few days.”

“You went to therapy too?” Erin asked, looking up, her voice barely above a whisper. She never knew anyone else who had gone through it. Hearing that Holtz had gone through it too made it seem more normal.

“Yeah.”

“Does Abby know?”

“I don't really talk about it much, so no.” And with that statement, Holtz pulled the googles that were sitting on her head over her eyes, and started working on something on her desk. Erin wasn't sure quite what to do, she felt weird if she just left, knowing that Holtz had just told her something very private. She decided to take a nap, the whole day had taken it out of her, first capturing a ghost and then having to relive her childhood. He shuffled on the sofa she was currently sitting on, repositioning herself so she was lying down. She looked up at Holtz, who was working away. Erin smiled, feeling a bit of warmth coming to her cheeks. She shut her eyes to go to sleep and heard Holtz put on some of her softer music, just loud enough to drown out the noise of her tinkering away.


	2. Chapter 2

Erin woke to Holtz yelling her name, shaking her shoulder.

“Erin. Erin! Wake up, you're dreaming!” It took a few seconds for Erin to realise where she was again, looking around, spotting Holtz, only a few inches away from her, a look of concern on her face. Abby and Patty were standing in the background. Erin made eye contact with Abby, who gave her a soft smile in return. Abby knew about the nightmares that had plagued Erin for years. Being unable to sleep for more then a few hours without waking up screaming, often to just see the ghost she was dreaming about right at the foot of her bed. Erin hadn't had any nightmares for years now, not since she starting working at Columbia. It had seemed so real though. She was back in her childhood bed, her neighbour just staring at her, while all the kids at school just stood around laughing at her, calling her ghost girl and a freak. 

“I think I should maybe go home.” Erin said, not liking everyone staring at her. Especially Holtzmann, giving her that look of absolute worry, something about it make her feel weird inside.

“I'll take you!” Holtzmann immediately chimed in, Erin looking up to see Holtzmann quickly gathering her things and checking on all the things scattered around her desk.

“No Holtz, we need you working on the equipment. I'll take her.” Abby said, which Erin was grateful for. She knew Holtz would have questions about what just happened, and while she wanted Holtz to know, she didn't feel quite ready to tell her. She didn't know if she was emotionally ready to share everything about her life again. Abby already knew, she didn't have to explain herself to Abby. She got up, following Abby down the stairs, looking back to Holtz on her way. The wounded look on Holtz's face felt just like a punch in the stomach to Erin, which she couldn't quite explain. She just shook it off and continued walking.

~~~

They sat in silence for most of the car journey to Erin's apartment. Erin just feeling awful about what had happened. Abby not sure how to approach the topic, or whether she should even say something. Finally Abby let out a big sigh and broke the silence

“I thought-”

“They did stop,” Erin shuffled around in her seat. “I hadn't had one for years. I don't quite understand why...”

“It was probably just because of Phil earlier. You'll be fine in a bit. Don't let that douche bring you down. He's not worth it.”

“Yeah.” Erin mumbled, really hoping she would be fine, she didn't know if she could survive this again.

Abby made sure Erin made it into her apartment, staying around a bit to make sure she was really okay for the moment.

“Go. I'll be fine.” Erin stated, when she noticed Abby still hovering around. 

“You sure?”

“Yes I'll be fine! You've still got to save New York.” Erin was practically pushing Abby out of the door at this point.

“Right, I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early. Don't you dare leave me again.”

“I won't” Erin replied, smiling and shaking her head

~~~

Holtzmann was working away, trying to get her mind off Erin. How scared she had looked while she was sleeping. How she had almost looked relieved when Abby had forced Holtz to stay in the lab. Holtz was almost... jealous of Abby. Abby had known Erin for years, while Holtz had barely known her for a few weeks. Sure, Abby had told Holtz some things about Erin, but Holtz was never going to know Erin like Abby knew her. She grunted, trying again to focus on the new toys she was making, pushing the though of Erin out of her head. Normally working on machines silenced her thoughts, only thinking about the part she was working on, how to refine it, how to improve it. Her thoughts were normally a storm inside her head, and working brought it down to calm seas. But. It. Just. Wasn't. Working. She threw down the grenade she was working on, knowing she would be less than useless in this state.

“Yo, Holtzy! You need some food or something? You know how low blood sugar can get.” Holtz had almost forgotten that Patty was still here. She had been sitting so quietly in one of the booths, on her laptop, Holtz assumed, researching some more about history. 

“I'm cool Patty. Thanks though.” Holtz gave Patty a grin, but she didn't look impressed. “Besides I've got my stash right here.” She said, pulling a tube of Pringles out that she always kept under her desk. She shoved a handful in her mouth, while retaining eye contact with Patty. “See?” She stated, crumbs falling out of her mouth. Patty only shook her head in response. 

“I meant some _real_ food, baby.”

“Nah, I'm good. Besides I've got all these cool toys to work on!” Holtz held her hands out, presenting all the bits and bobs on her table, wiggling her fingers.

“I'm not a scientist and even I can tell that whatever you're doing isn't working. If you don't take a break you're going to end up blowing something up, and I, for one, would prefer not to be in the building when that happens.” Holtz sighed.

“My mind's just a bit preoccupied, that's all.” Holtz picked up one of her gadgets, starting to fiddle with it.

“You thinking about Erin, huh?”

“What!?” Holtz said quickly, the coughing. “I mean, yeah, I'm just worried about her.”

“She'll be fine, Holtzy, you just gotta give her some time.” Holtz hummed in agreement. “Now let me get you some real food.” She didn't protest this time.

~~~

Erin, as it turns out, was not fine. Abby had left her alone with her thoughts, and all that was running through Erin's mind was all the mean things that the kids had told her as a child. Forcing herself to watch every painful moment of her childhood in high definition inside her head. She only wished she knew how to turn it off. The more she tried though, the stronger the thoughts became. She gave up trying to do anything, instead just getting into her bed. Maybe getting a good nights sleep would fix everything and she would wake up with a clear head, ready to get back to work.

Sleep alluded her, however. She spent the whole night tossing and turning and the few brief moments she was blessed with sleep, were filled with nightmares. Her alarm went off, and she grudgingly moved from her bed, pouring herself a very large cup of coffee, downing it. Maybe if she focused on work and capturing the ghosts now haunting New York city, everything would just go back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a lack of Holtz and Erin interacting in this chapter, and I'm sorry about that. I promise they will interact in the next one!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments left on the last chapter guys, they really fuel me to keep going with this!
> 
> I'm trying to match this up with canon and it's harder than I thought so the event may not match up completely okay?

Erin came into work wearing an oversized jumper and sweatpants. She couldn't bring it on herself to wear one of her tweed suits and fancy painful shoes, she needed some comfort. None of the other Ghostbusters commented on her outfit, but they did exchange a few looks when she walked into the lab. They still needed to solve what was happening with all these ghosts appearing over the city, and Erin wasn't going to let her slight emotional breakdown interfere with that. She had sacrificed so much and worked too hard to just wallow in her sadness.

Abby and Erin were focusing on investigating the devices that they had found in the places of the hauntings. The still intact one that they had found at the concert had helped them greatly, rather than the remains of the one in the subway. This one they could actually see how it worked, how all the pieces fitted together. They had started off working together, discussing ideas and the devices, but they had slowly separated, working on figuring it out on their own. 

Erin had the device sitting on the edge of her desk, furiously scribbling down equations to try and figure out exactly what the device did. They already knew it affected the ghosts somehow. Erin was trying to figure out the exact specifics, and how a device like this could even exist. She could feel Holtz staring at her from across the room. Erin looked up every so often, but every time Holtzmann quickly found herself very interested in the different devices on her desk. 

Erin sighed, crossing out yet another wrong equation. She was a world renowned physicist for God's sake, she should be able to figure out what one stupid device does. She put her head in her hands, closing her eyes for a brief moment. She could already feel herself drifting off, the impact of last night already weighting on her. She couldn't fall asleep in the lab though, not now, not with everything that was happening. She couldn't risk having another nightmare either, she already felt awful about the fact that the rest of the team knew about them. At least at this point she could just pretend that it was a one off occurrence, she could at least pretend to keep her facade of being sane. Patty and Holtz never needed to know that they were a whole thing.

The song playing from Holtz's desk increased in volume. Erin opened her eyes, looking over to Holtz, hearing the familiar beginning notes to 'Come on Eileen'. Holtz gave Erin a massive grin when they locked eyes, beginning to dance around, just like the first day that they had moved into this space. (Fire included) Erin wondered to herself how Holtz ever managed to survive when she managed to set something on fire or blow something up every few hours, but she guess that just added to the mystery that was Holtzmann. The song drew to a close, and Holtz finished off the dance with a dramatic flare, looking back again at Erin. Erin gave her a small smile, she knew Holtz was trying to cheer her up, and she appreciated that. Holtz had made her day just slightly brighter, she thought, going back to work on the equations that she had given up on moments before.

~~~

Holtz had stayed in the lab all night, working away. Abby had come back for a few hours, telling them all that Erin was fine. Both Patty and Abby had left after a while, Patty asking her if she was actually going to go home and sleep. She had given the excuse that she wanted to finish playing with her toys. She was too wired to go home, at least this way she could try to be productive and work on new tools to help the rest of the Ghostbusters if they encountered any more ghost. Holtz even took a nap on the sofa for a few hours when her eyes were getting too heavy to keep open, even with her glasses filtering out the light. She remembered Erin sleeping on the sofa just hours prior. Holtz wasn't afraid to admit that she had been watching her as she was working. Holtz couldn't help it. She had just looked so beautiful lying there, her stomach slowly moving up and down with her breathing, her mouth slightly agape. Then Holtz had noticed her stomach wasn't moving regular, more erratically, her eyebrows furrowed, tossing and turning. That's when Holtz knew that something wasn't right, and moved to wake the sleeping brunette. 

Holtz had also noticed the bags under the physicists eyes when she came in this morning, and the lack of any suit, or tiny bow ties. Holtz knew that Erin hadn't managed to get much sleep last night. She felt a pain in the pit of her stomach, wanting to do something to help, to ease the pain. Holtz didn't know what she could do though, and instead spent most of the day just staring at Erin with concern. 

When Erin sighed and put her head in her hands, Holtz knew she had to do something. She remembered back to the first day that they had worked together, and how Erin's face had lit up when she started dancing. She looked over at Erin, turning the dial up on her speakers, and starting dancing around. She even grabbed a blowtorch, and while she hadn't actually planned on set fire to her desk, it worked. She looked over at Erin when she had finished, her heart beating quickly in her chest, only receiving a small smile before Erin returned to her work. Her stomach dropped a little, she really hoped that would have worked in cheering Erin up. Erin must be sadder than Holtz thought, or Holtz must just be doing the wrong thing. She never did know how to interact with people very well. Holtz continued to stare at Erin for a few minutes longer, trying to come up with other ideas to cheer the physicist up. Suddenly an idea came to her, and she gave a little jump in the air. This was going to be perfect.

~~~

A few hours later, Kevin came over to the bunch of them to announce a guest. Abby had joined Holtz at her desk, discussing ideas, and Patty had moved over aswell to not feel left out.

“Uh, there's a Smarten Christ here to see you.” The Ghostbusters all exchanged looks between each other, trying to figure out exactly what Kevin meant this time. Even Erin had stopped doing her work and looked up.

“Do you mean Martin Heiss? The famed paranormal debunker?” She asked. Kevin gave Erin a strange look, as if he didn't understand what she was asking. 

“Um, That guy.” He just replied, pointing to the figure that was now standing in the doorway

“Oh my God, tell him we're not here. I don't want to talk to him.” Abby said, frantically.

“They're not here!” Kevin yelled out, but it was too late, Heiss had already starting walking into the room, and could very clearly see all the Ghostbusters. Erin stayed sat in her seat, not wanting to interact with the guy. He was already asking them questions about the validity of ghosts, and Abby was already arguing back, standing her ground. Erin was mostly trying to tune it out, not wanting to hear another person call her a liar, a fraud, a freak.

“Just tell me, why are you _pretending_ to hunt ghosts?” And that was it, Erin had had enough. She got up stormed over and grabbed the containment unit that was sitting on Holtz's desk waving it in front of him.

“For your information, we've actually just caught a class 3 vapour, and trapped it inside this box.” There was anger to Erin's words, and see could feel it starting to boil just beneath the surface.

“Oh a ghost!” He replied, mockingly. “Can I see it?”

“Absolutely not!” Abby cut in, already moving to take the containment unit off Erin.

“How convenient. You just caught a ghost and I'm not able to see it.”

“We're still working on a containment unit to show the ghosts.” Abby replied.

“Oh yeah, that's my job. Actually quite difficult that...” Holtz began to ramble, talking about all the problems she had encountered with the containment unit so far. Not that she had worked on it much. It was way more fun to work on the things that could blow stuff up.

“As you see,” Abby said, cutting Holtz off from her rant. “Not going to happen today.” She was still struggling to get the unit back from Erin, tugging it back and forth, but Erin was clinging to it like her life depended on it. To Erin, it felt like her life depended on it.

“Now I came here expecting some real science, but ah well. Another time perhaps. Or maybe your equipment will break just before I get here, leaving me again, unable to see the ghost.”

“All right it's time for you to go.” Patty walked over to him, looking like she would actually forcefully drag him from the building if he didn't go to leave.

“We'll show it to you.” Erin said, just as he was going to move. The rest of the Ghostbusters loked at Erin with shock.

“ _Really?_ ”

“Yes, we will. Gear up guys!” She grabbed the unit back off Abby. She wasn't going to be called wrong again. She wasn't just going to sit there and take it. She was going to do something about it, because this time she could. Maybe if she got Martin Heiss, a know debunker of the paranormal, to believe in ghost, then maybe the rest of the world would start to believe her too. She chucked the containment unit on the floor, popping the release mechanism out. Holtz and Patty had already got the proton packs on, she could see them standing behind her out of the corner of her eye. Heiss was sat there, his eyes open wide in anticipation. Erin was just about to put her foot down on the pedal, when Abby stopped her.

“Erin wait! You don't have to do this. You don't need to prove anything to him. To anyone! Alright? We all believe you,” Abby gestured to Holtz and Patty. “We finally did the thing that we were dreaming about! We caught a ghost! And you want to risk that just to impress him?” Abby knew where Erin was coming from. When she had first made friends with Erin at school, the other kids had lumped her in when bullying Erin. She'd never had it quite as bad though.

Erin took a moment to breathe. She knew Abby was right. She shouldn't risk releasing a ghost just to prove one insignificant dude wrong. But this wasn't just about proving him wrong. It was about finally getting her parents to believe her after everything they had put her through. It was getting all those kids to stop calling her ghost girl. It was about proving to everybody in her life that said that she was a liar and a freak, that she wasn't. In one defiant move, she shoved her foot down on the pedal before Abby could do anything to stop her.

Nothing happened at first, everyone crowding round the unit to see what was going to happen. And then the ghost materialised out of the unit. And then Martin Heiss was thrown out of the window. 

~~~

Abby was arguing with the police about what had happened. They didn't believe that a ghost had done this either, instead just making jokes and references to movies. Erin knew it was a bad idea. She regretted it as soon as her foot was on that pedal. If only she had just listened to Abby. She'd let a ghost loose. Everything that that ghost did now, everyone that got hurt, that was on her. She could already feel herself beginning to spiral downwards. Her hands started to shake slightly, the policemen's and Abby's voices being drowned out by her thoughts.

And then Holtzmann's arm was around her neck, and she was gently being taken away from the scene.

“Hey, it's not you fault alright? Okay maybe you did just let a ghost free to terrorise New York, but hey, we'll catch it again in a jiffy.” They'd stopped moving, and Erin was facing Holtz, who was currently giving Erin an 1000 watt grin. She appreciated the effort, Holtz did always seem to make things slightly better, in her own unusual way.

“I shouldn't of let him get to me.” Erin mumbled, “I just didn't want to be ghost girl again.”

“So? Maybe you are ghost girl.” Erin cocked her head to the side, giving Holtz a confused look. This was definitely not how to cheer her up. 

“We hunt ghosts for a living Gilbert.” Holtz placed her hands on either of Erin's shoulders, staring into her eyes. “Look all I'm saying is, sometimes you've got to embrace the tiles that you get given. I got called a weirdo for years, and I hated it. And then I learnt to embrace it. I mean, look at me, I'm crazy. And then, I didn't care what anyone else thought of me. They called me wierdo and I went 'Of course I am!', okay?” Erin let out a small chuckle, nodding.

“Okay.”

“Good.” Holtz said, now removing her hands from Erin's shoulders. “Now let's go back to the other guys. Make sure Abby hasn't murdered that police officer.” Holtz walked away, taking Erin's hand as she did. Erin felt a small flutter in her chest, and gave Holtzmann's hand a squeeze as the both walked back to Abby and Patty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, you can also find me on tumblr at gwen-harkness if you wanna talk to me over there


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait for this chapter, hopefully the contents makes up for it.

They end up being taken away by the mayor. Getting told that they're not allowed to do this. That they're not frauds, but the whole world needs to believe that they're frauds. She finally felt some accomplishment when they mayor congratulated them on a job well done, and then that was shattered an instant later. It breaks Erin's heart, knowing that she's right, and that she has the entire world against her. Well, nearly the entire world. She looks around at the other 3 Ghostbusters, knowing that they would have her back in a second. Holtz even catches her eye and gives her a massive grin.

They all agree that they're not going to stop what they're doing, that they can't, even if the mayor has told them. If the mayor wanted to stop them he would have to physically hold them all down. None of them were stopping as long as there was one small loophole to keep going.

Holtz knew that this was the perfect time to start phase one of her plan to cheer Erin up. She gathered them all outside in the alleyway behind the takeaway shop, and had placed on the new toys that she had been working on, on a table to the side. 

“Erin you've had a hard day. Step right up, pick a gun, any gun.” Holtz leads Erin over to the table, grinning at what she knows she's about to do. She watches with fascination as Erin looks over all the different array of machines on the table. Erin finally settles on the one that she wants, and goes to pick it up.

“NOOO!” Holtz yells out, and Erin immediately drops the gun, fumbling. “I'm sorry not that gun. That one's not ready, but it's yours when it is.” She has to keep a hand over her face to stop her smile from showing. All of the things on the table worked, she just wanted to make Erin's one extra awesome. And Holtz couldn't decide which one Erin would like best, so she let her chose. She made a note to start working on the hand gun as soon as they were finished with this. And she was going to make it the best damn gun she had ever made.

Holtzmann's plan didn't quite prepare for the look of disappointment on Erin's face though, when she found out she couldn't have the gun yet. So, Holtz had to quickly come up with a backup plan. She reaches out and places a reassuring hand on the bottom of Erin's arm, using her other hand to dig around in her back pocket.

“Here, in the mean time, this” Holtz presents Erin with a Swiss army knife, her very own one in fact. She always carried it round, just in case she found herself with something that needed a bit of tweaking, and no actually tools ready to hand. Erin takes it off her, looking at the small item with fascination.

“Wow what does it do?”

“It's a Swiss army knife, no women should walk around unarmed.” Holtz's make a note to get herself another one, as she was now walking around unarmed.

“I know what it does.” Erin's face has a look of disappointment on again, and Holtzmann doubts her plan for a second. Maybe she should of just given Erin the gun in the first place. But that thought quickly passed when she thought about how happy Erin was going to be when she gave her the super upgraded version.

“Also here,” She picks up a grenade from the table, handing it over. Luckily Holtz had made enough treats for everyone to still have a go at one, while keeping Erin's secret gun unused and on the table. Holtzmann is explaining what to do with the grenade to Erin, and she can see the excitement in her eyes. Holtz couldn't wait for that same expression to be on Erin's face when she gave her her special gun.

They spent a while playing with all of Holtz's toys in the back, enjoying blowing things up. Abby especially enjoyed when they accidentally blew up Benny's bike, she said is was revenge for how slow he always was. Once they had all finished playing around, they gathered back inside, decided to order a pizza and watch a movie. They all needed to take a break from ghostbusting occasionally.

~~~

Holtz and Erin were sitting next to each other on the sofa, while Abby and Patty had taken the armchairs either side. Holtz had slung her legs across the length of the sofa, lifting them up for Erin to sit down, only to place them back over Erin's lap. Several pizza boxes were sitting open on the table in front of them.

Moments like this made Erin so glad that Abby had decide to publish their book. If Abby hadn't of done that, she never would have had to go to her lab to confront her. She never would of met Holtz, and they would never all be sitting here. Erin felt content, even if it was just for a brief moment, she knew she'd have to deal with everything once the movie had finished. But for now she could just live in this blissful quiet, surrounded by her friends. She let out a yawn, her lack of sleep finally catching up. Holtz shifted to a more upright position beside her.

“You tired, Gilbert?” Erin looks over, catching Holtz's eyes.

“It's just been a long day, that's all.”

“You can take a nap if you want. I've been told I make a very comfortable pillow.” Holtz grins at her, and for a second Erin considers rejecting her proposal, not wanting a repeat of the last time she had fallen asleep in the lab, but another wave of tiredness hits her, and she knows she isn't going to make it through the rest of movie without drifting off.

“Okay.” She replies softly, and then Holtzmann is shuffling around, wrapping her arm around Erin's shoulder, pulling her down so her head is resting on Holtz's chest. 

“Comfortable?” Holtz whispers to Erin. Erin is looking to see if Abby and Patty have noticed their shift in positioning, but the pair are both too engrossed in the movie. Erin also can't believe just how comfortable she was, Holtz was right, she was a very good pillow. She felt safe, Holtz's arm wrapped around her, just about hearing the steady beat of Holtz's heart from her chest. She hums and nods in response, shutting her eyes, and before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.

~~~

The movie finishes, and Patty moves to clean up the pizza boxes, placing the leftovers in the fridge.

“Right, I think it's time we all go home now.” Abby announces. 

“You guys go, I'm just a little... stuck.” Holtz looks down at Erin's sleeping form on top of her, hoping that Patty and Abby get the message. Erin had shifted slightly in her sleep, leaving the pair of them completely tangled up in each other. There was no was Holtzmann could move without waking her. Abby gives Holtz a look, Holtz not quite understanding what it meant.

“Okay, just makes sure she gets home. She shouldn't be sleeping here all night.” Holtz uses her one free hand to give a salute to Abby.

“Make sure you go home too Holtzy!” Patty chimes in from the small kitchen they had in the lab. “Don't stay here all night working on one of your weird devices”

“Don't worry Patty. I promise I'll go home.” This seems to satisfy both of them, and they slowly gather their stuff and leave. When Holtz is sure that they have both gone, she looks down carefully at the body on top of her. She can't help but think how peaceful Erin looks. Part of Holtz wants to just stay like this forever, having Erin wrapped up in her arms, hearing her slow breaths in and out. Holtz moved and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Erin's head. And then Erin begins to stir, slowly moving, eyes blinking open, looking around to figure out exactly were she was again.

“Shit, I didn't mean to wake you.” Erin looked up at Holtz and she was acutely aware of how close they were, something Holtz hadn't noticed earlier when Patty and Abby had been in the room.

“Where are Patty and Abby?” Erin asked, still not quite fully awake.

“They went home.” Erin nodded, and they both stay in the position they are in for a few seconds. Holtz not wanted to move, and Erin presumably still processing what was happening.

“What time is it?” Holtz shifts a little to look at her watch, but still remaining close to Erin.

“Uh, 12:38” 

“Oh,” And with that the illusion is shattered, Erin snaps away from Holtz, and Holtz can feel her heart drop at the loss of contact. “I need to get home” Erin stands up, trying to gather her things, her head still a little foggy from the nap that she just had. She's just picking up the last of her bits when she can feel Holtz standing behind her.

“Let me take you,” Erin turns around, and Holtz gives a small shrug. “I promised Abby I'd make sure you'd get home.”

“Okay.” Is all Erin responds with, leaving the lab, with Holtz following shortly behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Holtz having all the toys ready and then just waiting to see which on erin picked to make extra awesome isn't mine. I saw it on a tumblr. If anyone has the link send it to me and I'll be sure to credit it


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the super long wait for this chapter. My computer ended up dying and I had to find a new one, which took a few weeks. It then took me a few days to get back into this, but here's a new update! (Sorry that it's on the shorter side)

They sat in silence in the car, Erin curled up in the seat beside Holtz.  
“Come on Gilbert, You’ve got to at least give me some instructions on where you live. Unless you want me to just drive around the city aimlessly and stopping at apartment blocks hoping it’s where you live. Cause I could play that game if that’s what you want.” Erin shifts so she’s more awake, and gives Holtz directions to her apartment. They arrive quickly, mostly due to Holtz going over the speed limit half the time. Erin was fully awake now, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. She was surprised she had managed to fall asleep earlier, she figured it must of had something to do with the other body she had wrapped around her. Her brain recognising the other person’s body heat and relaxing, or maybe she had just got so exhausted that she had to sleep. Either way, it didn’t really matter now.

~~~

Holtz followed her up to her apartment, she didn’t protest, just gave a small questioning surprised look.  
“Just making sure you don’t die on the stairs up. I would hate to have to tell Abby that I failed my duties.” Erin chuckled in response.

Erin’s apartment was exactly like Holtz had expected it to be, clean, methodical, everything had its place. There was a pile of notebooks on a table in the corner, presumable filled with notes and theories thought up by the physicist.  
“It’s not much,” Erin said, in response to seeing Holtzmann looking around. “I don’t really decorate much.”  
“Nah, It’s, um, very you.” Holtz very quickly makes herself at home, slumping herself on the single sofa Erin has in the living room. Erin almost laughs at how out of place Holtz looks, her bright colourful messy self, contrasting with the plain coloured and organised space. And yet, there was a small feeling in the bottom of Erin’s gut that said that Holtz just belonged there.  
“So, what do you wanna do now hot stuff?”  
“It’s the middle of the night Holtz. We’ve got to be back again in the morning.”  
“And…?” Holtz raises her eyebrows and tilts her head slightly.  
“Okay fine,” Erin sits on the edge of the sofa, next to Holtz. “But only because I know if I leave you alone you’ll get bored and find a way to build something to blow up my apartment. Not that there’s even anything here I think you could use, but I wouldn’t put it past you.” Holtz looks around for a few minutes, taking note of all the various things in the room.  
“I can count at least 4 ways that I could set this apartment of fire right now.”  
“What! I- you know what, I don’t want to know, just please… don’t.”  
“Ooo-kaay” Holtz rolls her eyes, and then starts rambling about what she’s currently working on. Erin finds it endearing. She loves seeing someone this passionate about something, she can notice the glimmer in Holtz’s eyes whenever she talks about her ‘babies’. She only understands about 70% of what the engineer is saying, but she swears she would listen to Holtz talking forever.

~~~

About an hour has passed, and Erin lets out a massive yawn while listening to Holtz. Holtz pauses in her explanation, wondering if she should let Erin go to bed, it is very late after all.  
“I’m sorry, we’ve just stayed up so long. I guess my nap from earlier hasn’t really kept me going all that well.”  
“It’s cool, natural bodily functions and all that. If you want to go to bed that fine, I just have one small request.”  
“What?” Erin raises her eyebrows, worried what the hell Holtz would request of her, knowing her, it could be anything.  
“You let me sleep on this couch tonight.” Erin almost lets out a sigh of relief.  
“Of course Holtz.”  
“Thanks Gilbert.”

~~~

Sleep alludes her yet again. Erin’s pretty sure she’s been lying in this bed for hours now, it must be nearly time to get up. Her mind keeps drifting to Holtzmann though. The small scientist currently curled up in her living room sofa. Occasionally she can even her soft snores coming from that direction. She’s not sure why Holtz seems to be on her mind so much lately, but she doesn’t mind it. In fact, she gets this kind of… Happy warm feeling when she thinks of Holtz? It’s nice to have someone who cares about her, besides Abby of course. Oh, and Patty. She rolls over to check to time, and makes the executive decision that it is late enough to get up and get ready for the day.

~~~

Holtz is out like a light when Erin enters the living room and she can’t help but notice that while she’s been making her best attempts at sleep, Holtz has managed to lose some of her clothing, stripped down to just her boxers and t-shirt. Erin finds herself staring, a pinkness coming to her cheeks. She’s not sure exactly how long she had been staring for, but Holtz has started to stir.  
“See something you like Gilbert?” Erin’s face has definitely turned bright red now. She coughs and splutters  
“No- I just- I was,” Erin manages to take a breath. “Breakfast. Do you want some breakfast?” Holtz smiles.  
“I’d love some, sugar plum.” Erin quickly turns away and heads to the kitchen so she can’t embarrass herself more in front of Holtz.

~~~

They arrive at that lab together, and Erin can feel Abby’s stare on her. She can’t really imagine how this must look, them arriving together, Holtz wearing the same clothes as she did yesterday, and she’s pretty sure the last that Patty and Abby saw of them was her curled up and asleep on Holtzmann. Oh god, it did look bad. Part of Erin was glad that Patty wasn’t here yet. She just needed to throw hherself into her work, and get on with the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Patty and Abby are so going to have a chat about what's going on next chapter

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more Abby and Patty involved in the next chapter, in case you were wondering. I'm going to try to update this every few days, but I make no promisies


End file.
